Meg Griffin I Can Be A Hero Too
by Week85
Summary: The Griffin Family find themselves in a world doomed to fade away into oblivion. It is here that Meg learns that she, too, can be a hero!
1. Farewell to Old Life

Meg Griffin - I Can Be A Hero, Too!

A Family Guy FanFiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane

There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these aren't our characters and we can't profit off of them in any financial way.

===Prelude to Adventure===

Quahog, Rhode Island The Griffin's Residence

Peter's car drives off, filled with occupants. All 6 of them are dressed up nicely, as they are on their way to a fancy diner. Peter is driving and Lois is in the passenger seat. Brian is riding up front, sitting between the two. behind him, in the back seat, is Chris. To his left is Stewie, sitting in a booster seat. To Chris' right, is his girlfriend, Anna. She leans up a bit closer towards the front seat.

"Thanks again for inviting me to dinner, Mr and Mrs Griffin." she says.

Lois looks back. "Oh, it's our pleasure, honey." she answers.

"Yeah." Peter adds. "You've become like family to us."

Hearing her husband mention the word 'family' sends an almost instant chill to Lois, as she has a horrible realization. "OH MY GOD, WE FORGOT MEG!"

Unphased by his wife's outburst, Peter continues driving to their destination.

"Peter!" Lois starts. "Aren't you going back?"

Peter answers sarcastically, "Yeah, I'm REALLY going back for Meg!"

Back in front of the Griffin's house, Meg, in her traditional clothes, watches as Peter's car drives out of sight. She stands there alone for a few minutes longer. Holding her head down, she slowly walks back inside.

===Chapter 1: Farewell To Old Life===

Meg is slumped back on the couch, watching television. She's constantly changing the channels. Not really to watch anything in particular, or looking for something that she may like, Meg is just trying to drown out the thoughts of all the garbage that she's forced to put up with.

At school, she is the most unpopular girl. She wants to be popular, or at least noticed, but every attempt to do so is always crushed by the constant bullying and harrasment she suffers at the hands of Connie D'amico and her ontarage.

At home, she is the target of embarassing pranks and violent abuse from her father, Peter. Rarely, her mother, Lois, would step in to her defense, but mostly Meg is left alone to fend for herself against this unprovoked abuse.

All she wants is to belong, to fit in, to be a part of something. But no matter where she goes, she just can't. She is an outcast at school, a black sheep at home, and a nobody in society. The one thing she wants, but can't seem to get in life is acceptance.

Acceptance. Acceptance.

Like a scratched record, that word just seems to repeat in Meg's mind.

Acceptance. Acceptance.

"WHY CAN'T I BE ACCEPTED!"

After her outburst, Meg tosses the remote into the television screen. At first, Meg didn't care about what she did. She was just standing there, breathing heavily, allowing the anger and rage that built up inside of her to vent out quietly.

But as her anger died down, something else took it's place. Staring at the broken television, Meg felt a sense of fear slowly filling up inside her. She knows how much her father loves to watch TV. She knows that if anyone takes that joy from him, they're pretty much dead. And being who she is would only make things worst for her.

"Dad's gonna kill me..." Meg muttered.

With her hands to her face, she didn't know what to do. Her family will be home any minute, and when they get there, her father will most certainly kill her.

"I can't stay here." Meg can't even think straight. "What do I do? Can I even do anything?"

Meg keeps running through all the possible options to her dilemna. Confront her dad. Barricade herself in her room. Lie and say burgulars broke the TV in a failed robbery attempt. None of them made any sense to her.

"I'm running out of time! What can I do?"

It seems like there was no way out of this, except for one. It just appeared in her mind. An option. Her only option. And, after just giving it a second of thought, she took it.

Meg bursts out the front door and runs away.

She doesn't pack any clothes. She doesn't gather any supplies. She doesn't take any food with her. She just leaves it all behind. Her life, her friends, her family, all of it. In a moment of fear, Meg quickly abandons the life that she once knew, the life filled with torment and despair, to save her life.

Her path takes her into the nearby forest preserve. 


	2. Forever Helpless

Meg Griffin - I Can Be A Hero, Too!

A Family Guy FanFiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane

There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these aren't our characters and we can't profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 2: Forever Helpless===

Morning.

Meg is sitting down with her back against the trunk of a large tree. She's been sleeping like this all night. When the sunbeams of the morning sun reach her eyes, she slowly opens them. A blurry vision quickly comes into focus. Trees, trees, and more trees. She's still in the forest preserve.

Her first thought is regret for running away. Everyone must be worried sick about her.

"I'd better get back." Meg thinks to herself. "I know I broke the TV, but I don't believe dad will KILL me over it."

Meg looks around. The forest preserve is a different looking place in the day than it is at night, and she has no idea which way she was running last night.

Standing up, Meg knows that there's no way she'll find her way back home by just sitting around. She simply picks a direction and starts walking.

An hour later...

Meg is still walking through the forest.

"For a forest preserve, this place is huge." she says. "I hope I'm going in the right direction."

Meg continues to walk. The sun is shining through the thick forest from her right. Ahead, more trees. She continues to work her way through them all.

Soon, the sunlight begins to fade from view. A cloud in the sky perhaps? No. A fog. It's starting to block the view in the distance. Not phased by this, Meg continues on.

But the more she does, the thicker the fog gets. Soon, she can't see the leaves above her in the trees. Then the trees themselves go out of view. At this point, Meg stops. Lost in the fog, she has no choice but to call for help.

"HELP! HELP ME! I'M LOST AND I CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME!"

As if to answer her call, a growl comes from behind her. Startled, Meg quickly turns around. What she saw wanted to make her scream, but, at the same time, took her breath away.

A large man covered completely in dark armor is standing there. A blood-red cape is flapping from his back.

In his left hand are 3 chain leashes. They're holding back the 3 black wolves in front of them. The wolves all have blood dripping from their mouthes and large, sharp talons to replace their paws.

The wolves are all struggling to lash out towards the frightened teenage girl, who is slowly backing away.

"Kill her."

After hearing the orders the armored man just gave, Meg quickly turns around and runs away. Almost at the same time, the armored man releases the chains, allowing the wolves to give chase.

Meg stumbles around in the blinding fog, trying her best to get away. As trees quickly come up to her, she turns, spins, rolls, jump, stumbles, anything she can do to get around them and avoid slowing down.

Those blood wolf things, whatever they are, will stop at nothing to reach their target. Evidence of that can be seen in the way they're slashing down every tree in their way.

This actually works in her favor, however. By destroying the forest around them, they're not moving nearly as fast as they normally could. Normally, these blood wolf things can move faster than most humans. Their need for senseless destruction causes them to to stray from their initial target.

But one thing is for sure. When they have a target, they won't stop until it's dead. And right now, their target is Meg.

"HELP ME!" Meg desperately screams for assistance. "HELLLLLLLLLP!"

The blood wolf things are slowly catching up to her. Meg is trying her best to escape, but those wolves are still gaining ground on her. One is in striking range. It jumps up to pounce on her. Just as the claw of it's front right talon touches her hat, Meg falls through the leaves on the ground. A hole is uncovered.

The blood wolf things gather around the hole and starts to dig through it. Unfortunately for them, their talons don't allow them to dig very well. One of the blood wolf things managed to hold on to Meg's hat, which it quickly shreds to pieces.

"Forget her."

The armored man walks through the thick fog, towards the blood wolf things, who are now sitting up like obiedient dogs. He grabs all of the chained leashes.

"We must resume the search."

Walking back into the fog, the blood wolf things follow.

In the hole, Meg struggles to get back up her feet. She's holding her left arm, because she broke it in the fall. She leans back against the hole wall and begins to cry.

One violent near death moment and she wishes, more than she ever did, that she was home. She wishes that she was with her family. The same family that laughs at her, mocks her, ridicules her...

Even through this time of grief and despair, Meg's mind still wanders.

Family is supposed to be there to help you through the bad time. Family is supposed to comfort you, protect you, and keep you safe from the bad things in life. When was the last time they did so?

Where were they a few minutes ago when she was running for her life?

This direction of thinking causes Meg to slide down to the ground and cry even more.

Alone in the hole, she cries for a long time. 


	3. A Bold New World

Meg Griffin - I Can Be A Hero, Too!

A Family Guy FanFiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane

There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these aren't our characters and we can't profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 3: A Bold New World===

"Please don't cry."

A soft voice echoes throughout the hole Meg fell into. She stops crying to look around. Except for the light coming from the opening in the ceiling, she could only see darkness around. But then, a green light illuminates the hole, revealing that it's actually a tunnel.

"wh-who's there?" Meg asks in a weak voice.

"Follow my voice."

While holding her broken left arm, Meg struggles to get up to her feet. When she's standing again, she begins to walk towards the green light. Even at the slow speed she's walking, it doesn't take long for Meg to reach the source of the voice.

A huge cave in the tunnel housed an underground spring. Fresh, clean, crisp water spouts up from the ground to form a big circular fountain. It's the size of an Olympic Sized Swimming Pool.

Standing in front of the spring is a middle-aged woman. She's wearing a long, silk, green robe that extends from her shoulders to her ankles. On her feet are green sandals. Even her long hair was green. I guess that's her favourite color, or something.

Oh, wait. She has a blue flower on the left side of her hair. So much for that thought.

As for the green light, the source seems to be some stone floating over the fountain. It brightens up the entire cavern like a standard lightbulb in an otherwise dark room.

The woman in green almost instantly notices Meg's broken arm.

"Oh, no! You're hurt!"

She runs over to Meg, who backs up just a bit. The woman grabs Meg's broken arm.

"What are you..."

Before Meg could even respond, the woman's hands emit their own green glow.

"Just hold still. I'll heal you."

Her glowing hands are left on Meg's arm for a few seconds. When the glow fades away, she lets go of the arm.

"How does it feel now?"

Meg moves her left arm. She feels no pain as she freely moves it again.

"Wow! It feels great! Thanks!" Meg is grateful for the miracle that the green woman just performed.

However, the fear that she just experienced with the armored man and the blood wolf things is still fresh in her mind, and from such fear, anger is born.

"What the hell is going on?" Meg shouts. "Who are you? Where am I? Why was I attacked?"

The green woman looks to the side. Unnoticed by Meg, there's an exit back outside. A thick fog seeps in from outside, but doesn't get far.

"Doom Knight." she answers.

"Who?" Meg asks.

"You saw him, right? A giant man in dark armor with a red cape? He comes out in the fog and attacks without warning. He's been appearing here in Pelica Woods for quite awhile now."

"Pelica Woods? I-Isn't this a forest preserve?"

The woman shakes her head no. "No. This is Pelica Woods, which stands at the edge of the Octl Realm."

Meg is standing there, confused. "I have no idea what you're talking about?" she shouts.

The green woman can see that Meg is still heavy with fear and anger. Talking to her at this time would not be a good idea.

"You're still worked up." the green woman says, grabing Meg's hands. "We'll talk some more, later."

"What?" Meg shouts.

The green woman kisses Meg's frehead. A second or two later, Meg begins to drift off into slumber...

Back at the Griffin's House.

Peter is on the phone. "Ok... Ok... Ok... Thanks, Joe."

He hangs up the phone, then turns towards Lois, who's waiting anxiously for some good news. "Well?" she cries.

Peter answers, "Joe's still looking, but so far no luck. The cheapest price for that new plasma screen TV is still $1399."

Lois facial expression instantly changes. "DAMN IT, PETER!" she shouts. "WHAT ABOUT MEG?"

Peter has a blank expression in his face. "What? Is she missing or something?"

Sheer rage guides her next act. Lois jumps up and kicks Peter in the head, knocking him down to the floor, unconscious.

Lois then sits down on the couch and begins to cry. The broken TV is still in front of her, but she has her eyes in her hands. Tears begin to leak out from her hands.

Brian enters the house to find Lois crying and Peter unconscious next to the couch. He climbs over Peter to reach the couch and console Lois.

"Don't worry, Lois." he says. "I'm sure Meg is still alive out there. Chris is asking around at the mall and Anna is checking the school. We'll find her, I'm sure."

Lois wipes the tears from her eyes and gets up from the couch. She looks at Peter.

"If only we went back for her!" Lois says.

She starts punching her unconscious husband in the face.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU GO BACK FOR OUR DAUGHTER, YOU FAT BASTARD?"

Brian struggles to, but eventually pulls Lois back. "Calm down! This isn't going to bring Meg back!"

Just hearing her daughter's name is enough to spark the return of tears to her eyes, but Lois doesn't cry for long. She wipes the tears from her eyes, then grabs her jacket.

"Where are you going?" Brian asks.

"I'm going to find my daughter!" Lois answers. "Stay here in case Chris or Anna heard anything!"

Lois runs out the door.

Meg wakes up in a bed, most simillar to her own back in Quahog. Matress, bed sheets, comforters, pillows, the works. Looking around, she's inside of a nicely furnished room. Kinda like her own, but much smaller and a lot more empty. The bed and a nightstand with a lamp on it are the only things here. The walls are all decorated with a nice floral pattern and the floor is even lined with carpeting.

This is a different setting from the tunnel she fell into. Where she found the fountaing, the glowing green stone, and the woman in green...

"That's right!" Meg thinks to herself. "I don't even know what's going on here!"

Meg steps through the door. On the other side, she finds herself back in the tunnel. The green light somehow keeps even this part of the tunnel filled with light. The light is brighter in one direction, so she follows it.

Meg is led back to the underground fountain. The green woman is holding the green stone, which illuminates an extremely bright light. It coveres everything in a green glow. Meg is forced to shield her eyes.

When it fades, and Meg opens her eyes again, she notices something new. Her body is emitting a soft, green glow. After awhile, her glow also fades away.

Meg walks up to the green woman. The woman turns around to greet her. "Oh, you're awake!" she says. "How are you feeling?"

Meg's feelings were still mixed with anger, fear, and confusion. Thanks to the nap she just took, however, those feelings aren't as strong, leaving her much room for calmness and stability.

"Better." Meg answers. "I'm sorry I was yelling before."

The green woman smiles. "Don't worry about it." she answers. "If you've encountered Doom Knight, then you must've had a rough time."

Smiling, Meg sticks her hand out towards the green woman.

"Thanks for saving me. I'm Meg."

The green woman grabs her hand and shakes it.

"And I'm Lily, the Spirit of Nature." 


	4. A Kindred Spirit

Meg Griffin - I Can Be A Hero, Too!

A Family Guy FanFiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane

There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these aren't our characters and we can't profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 4: A Kindred Spirit===

Meg and Lily are sitting in front of the fountain. Between them is a basket of fruit. Meg is biting into a pear.

"That's quite a story." Lily says. "But do you really think your father will kill over a television set?"

Meg shruds her shoulders. "Well, not anymore." she answers. "Like I said, I just wasn't thinking straight last night."

"Being left behind can have that effect on anyone. I should know."

Meg tilts her a head a bit to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I wish to return to the Regal Lands with the other 3 spirits of Octl."

"Spirits of Octl?"

Lily sighed, then prepared to tell her story.

"The Octl Realm is governed by 8 elements. Ice, Thunder, Earth, Water, Metal, Plant, Wind, and Fire. For each pair of opposing elements, one spirit is assigned to watch over them.

"Vanna, the Spirit of Seasons, watches over the elements of Fire and Ice.

"Macy, the Spirit of Technology, watches over the elements of Thunder and Metal.

"Grace, the Spirit of the Planet, watches over the elements of Wind and Earth.

"And I'm the Spirit of Nature. I govern the elements of Plant and Water.

"The four of us lived in the Regal Lands. At the center of the Octl Realm, the Regal Lands is a place of great beauty. We all lived there peacefully, under the rule of the great King Gover."

"I don't get it." Meg says. "If you miss the Regal Lands so much, why not just go back there?"

"It's too dangerous." Lily explains. "The Doom Knight roams Pelica Forest, attacking and killing anyone he comes across."

"But what if he finds this place?" Meg asks.

Lily looks out over the fountain, staring at the glowing green stone. "Not to worry." she says. "The light from the Nature Stone conceals this place from Doom Knight and his evil forces.

"As long as the light shines from the stone, we'll be safe here."

Meg looks out at the stone. "But how will you ever escape from the forest and return to the Regal Lands?" she asks.

"I must wait for the The Champion." Lily answers. "Only he is powerful enough to defend against Doom Knight."

"The Champion?"

"He is King Gover's most powerful knight, and the Guardian of the Octl Realm.

"When we, the 4 spirits, were forced out of the Regal Lands, King Gover sent out The Champion to find and bring us back. So far, Vanna, Macy, and Grace have been safely returned..."

Meg looks at Lily. "And he hasn't found you, yet?" she asks.

Lily looks back at Meg. Sadness can be seen in the spirit's eyes.

"It's been almost two years since I was seperated from the other spirits." Lily answers. "The others were found in mere days afterwards, and yet, here I am... alone..."

A tear comes from Lily's eye.

"Have they forgotten about me?"

Meg begins to reach her hand out and console Lily, but she doesn't. The way Lily is right now, the sadness that she is overcome with, is quite similar to what she felt when she fell into the hole earlier today. It still lingers a bit inside of her.

She is familliar with this kind of feeling of abandonment, but what could she say to make it better? This is something that she accepted in her life.

Did she?

If Meg trully accepted the fact that she was just, on her own, then why was she crying when she escaped from Doom Knight's Blood Wolf things?

This feeling, that's still on her mind is something she would not wish upon anyone. Not even her worst enemy. And right now, her new friend is heavy with it.

Meg wanted to comfort Lily, to tell her that everything will be okay. But how? What can she say or do that will make everything better? She had to to something.

Without thinking, she acts. Meg leans forward and hugs Lily. "I'm sorry." Meg says, with tears in her own eyes. "I'm sorry that you've been left here by yourself."

Lily doesn't move for a few seconds. Her sad facial expression is replaced with one of shock and surprise. A few seconds later, it's replaced with a faint, but unmistaken expression of happiness. Lily hugs Meg right back.

"Thank you, Meg." she responds.

It's night.

Back in Pelica Forest, near the hole where Meg fell through, a piece of her tattered hat was still on the ground. Soon, the wind picked up lifting it off the ground. The winds, originating from the north, carried the piece of Meg's hat south through the trees and branches of the forest.

After breaching the edge of the forest, it lands on the street, pass the Forest Preserve sign. Brian just happened to be standing there, meeting the piece of the hat where it hit the ground. He picks it up, then takes a couple of sniffs with his big dog nose.

"Meg." he says, pulling out his cellphone.

Back at the Griffin's house, Lois is pacing back and forth by the phone. Peter, Chris, Anna, and Stewie are sitting on the couch. Lois' path has her walking between thm and the broken television.

"Hey, Lois, do you mind?" Peter starts. "You're blocking the TV!"

Everyone looks at Peter. "But Dad." Chris starts. "The TV's broke."

Peter looks back at Chris. "Hey, money or not, TV is TV."

Everyone just stares at him for a few seconds longer. "What?" Anna asks.

The phone rings. Everyone's focus turn to Lois as she picks up.

"Hello?"

"It's Brian. I think I found Meg!"

"Where?"

"Meet me by the Forest Preserve down the street!"

"We're on our way!"

Lois hangs up. "It's Brian! He thinks he knows where Meg is!"

Everyone springs up and runs out the door. Chris, holding Stewie, is the last to leave.

"So I guess we're off to bring our dogs home, huh?" Stewie says.

"Dude, shut up." Chris responds.

The next morning.

Meg is sleeping in the same bed as earlier. Without warning, Lily bursts through the door, waking her up.

"Meg!" Lily shouts. "You have to get up, now!"

Meg puts her glasses on, then turns on the lamp. Lily looks really stressed out.

"Lily!" Meg starts. "What's wrong?"

Meg then notices the big stone in Lily's arms.

"Is that..."

"The Nature Stone! It lost it's powers!" 


	5. No More Tears

Meg Griffin - I Can Be A Hero, Too!

A Family Guy FanFiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane

There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these aren't our characters and we can't profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 5: No More Tears===

Meg and Lily are standing in the now darkened tunnels. Lily is holding the now lightless Nature Stone.

"It's only a matter of time before Doom Knight finds us now!" Lily says.

"We have to get out of here!" Meg says. "We're just sitting ducks in here!"

"But we won't last long out there in the light!" Lily responds.

"GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLL!"

They both stop. The growling on the outside can be heard from inside.

"They found us!" Meg shouts. "What do we do?"

Lily takes a deep breath. "The town of Latrop is nearby." she says. "If we can make it there, then we may have a chance."

Lily leads Meg through the tunnels to the exit leading outside. A light fog is beginning to seep inside. Meg freezes in her steps for a second after seeing the fog, but a couple of tugs on her arm snaps her out of it.

"Whatever happens, Meg," Lily starts. "We must not stop until we make it out of the forest."

Scared, Meg nods her head.

They burst out of the entrance of the underground fountain and rush through the forest. It doesn't take long for the Blood Wolf things, with the blood dripping from their mouths and large talons to replace their paws, to give chase. Two are on their trail.

"Meg!" Lily shouts. "Don't stop! Keep running!"

As they run, Lily's hands start glowing. Wherever she and Meg ran, a trail of trees would burst up from the ground, blocking the paths of the Blood Wolf things. They use their powerful talons to destroy the trees that would sprout up. However, they spend way too much time reducing them to dust. By the time they're done, Lily and Meg are out of view.

The fog in the forest is getting thicker.

Meg and Lily are still rushing forward, trying to make it out of the forest. From in front of them, a Blood Wolf thing leaps out at them. Meg ducks underneath to avoid. Lily steps to the side, but was still knocked to the ground by it's tail. Before she could get up, the Blood Wolf thing was already standing over her. It raised it's talon to attack, but stops when it's struck in the head with a large stick.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

The Blood Wolf thing turns to face Meg, who's holding another stick in her hand, ready to throw it. This brief distraction gives Lily the time needed to cast another spell. From the trees above, numerous vines swoop down, wrap around the Blood Wolf thing, and lift it off the ground. The Blood Wolf thing struggles in vain to break free.

Meg helps Lily back to her feet. "Are you okay?" Meg asks.

"Yes." Lily answers. "Thank you."

The two continue to run north through the forest, even as the fog gets thicker. Soon, they stop. The large man in the dark armor, Doom Knight, blocks their path. His blood red cloak flaps in the winds.

"The Champion has abandoned you, Lily." Doom Knight says, in his deep voice.

Doom Knight opens his palm out towards Lily and Meg. On the palm of his gauntlet is an eye. Steering at them, the eye begins to shine. Lily shoves the Nature Stone into Meg's arms and pushes her into the fog.

"Lily!" Meg shouts as she sinks into the fog.

A blinding light fills the area. When it fades away. A statue of Lily, looking as if she's pushing someone, stands in front of Doom Knight.

"It's about time, Doom Knight."

From his side, a woman dressed in a long black robe walks out of the fog. She walks up to the petrified Lily.

"It took you two long years to find this lonely spirit." she says.

"At least I FOUND my target, Moonlight." Doom Knight responds. "What about The Spirit of Seasons?"

She snaps toward Doom Knight. "Shut up!" she says.

Laughing, Doom Knight walks back into the fog.

"Wait." Moonlight starts. "What about that girl who was with her?"

"She's nothing." Doom Knight responds. "Let's leave this blasted forest."

Doom Knight fades into the fog. Moonlight follows. Afterwards, the fog fades away. Meg is revealled, lying on the ground, unconscious, against a nearby tree. Lily must've pushed her right into it, knocking her out.

A few hours later, the afternoon sun shines over Meg's eyes. She opens them. The Nature Stone is on the ground next to her. She slowly gets up.

"Lily?" Meg calls out, but can't hear any response. "Lily?"

She looks around. It takes her no time to see the statue of Lily.

"Lily!"

Meg runs over to her. Lily is a lifeless statue.

"Lily! Lily! Lily!" Meg continues to call out to her, but, petrified, she does not respond.

Meg begins to cry over her fallen friend. Her cries can be heard for miles around.

After what seemed like forever, Meg finally stops. She wipes the tears from her eyes, then stares at her friend.

"She was so sweet." Meg thinks to herself. "Why did she have to die?

"Where was this Champion who was supposed to save her?"

It doesn't take long for Meg to get angry this time around. Yes, she's familliar with the feeling of neglect and abandonment, but it's something completely different when someone you know feels the effect of those same feelings.

And poor Lily paid the ultimate price.

"Champion!" Meg shouts "Where are you!"

She doesn't know. But there's one place that she knows about to get the answers.

The Regal Lands.

Meg picks up the Nature Stone and continues to the end of the forest. 


	6. Meg on the Town

Meg Griffin: I Can Be A Hero Too!

A Family Guy FanFiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane

There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these aren't our characters and we can't profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 6: Meg on the Town===

"Welcome to Latrop."

After reading the sign at the edge of town, Meg Griffin, still holding the lightless Nature Stone, ventures into the town of Latrop. After encountering characters such as the Spirit of Nature and the Doom Knight, she expected Latrop, and the other cities of the Octl Realm, to have more of a Medieval design to them.

To her surprise, Latrop seems just like her suburbian home of Quahog. Street lights, cars, phonebooths, an electronic store with televisions on display at the window, and even a nice little bistro. Even the people walking about are wearing modern day clothing. This is definately not a Rennisance Fair.

Meg stops one person walking down the street. "Excuse me." she says. "Would you know how to get to the Regal Land from here?"

The man points east, down a street. "A transport at the end of this street should take you there." he answers.

"Thanks." Meg starts running down the street. A little relieved, she expected a bit more trouble getting to such an important place. How convienent for her that there's a regular means of travel to the Regal Land.

At the end of the street is a huge Train Station. A young woman is standing inside the Ticket Booth at the gate. Meg walks up to her.

"Where are you going?" the woman asks.

For some reason, Meg had to think about it before she answers. "The Regal Lands."

"5000 Credits."

"Credits?"

It just now occured to her. This is a different world than where she came. Of course the currency is going to be different! They probably never heard of dollars and cents here. Regardless, Meg digs in her pocket and pulls out 2 dollars and 53 cents.

"I'm sorry." the attendant starts when she sees the money. "We can't except U.S. currency. You'll have to exchange it over at the Currency Exchange."

"Where's that?" Meg asks.

The attendant points west, back down the same road Meg originally took to get here. "It's in the Town Square." she answers. "It's a bit of a way, but just stay on this street and you can't miss it."

"Thanks." Meg responds. Maybe getting to the Regal Lands won't be as easy as she thought. Oh well... At least there's a way for her to use whatever little money she has.

It takes her about an hour to get to the Town Square from the Train Station. When she does, she immediately sits down on a bench and rests. Ever since she recovered in Pelica Woods, she's been walking. Finally taking a break, Meg looks around. The street ends and the buildings circle around to form a nice plaza. People are walking around, visiting the many stores here. Plenty of stores about, Meg finds the Currency Exchange among them.

It then catches her eye. At the other end of the Town Square, opposite from where the street ends, is a tall statue of a man holding a sword and wearing a cape. Meg stares at the statue for a long time. A strong sense of anger and hatred begins to overtake her. She never seen this statue, or the man it's built for. Still, after reading the description, Meg can't help but feel this anger and hatred.

"What about Lily?" Meg thinks to herself. "What about Lily?"

Meg stands up and walks up to the statue.

"WHAT ABOUT LILY!" she shouts. "WHY DID YOU ABANDON HER!"

Everyone stops to stare at her. Totally unphased by this unwanted attention, Meg storms into the Currency Exchange.

A man, still outside, stares at the Currncy Exchange. As everyone else resumes their business, this man turns to and reads the description of the statue. "The Champion - Hero and Guardian of Octl"

"Where are you?" the man mutters.

Pelica Woods.

Sniffing in the air, Brian is slowly walking through the forest. Trailing behind him are Lois, Peter, and Chris. Behind Chris, Anna, carrying Stewie in her arms, brings up the rear.

"This place just SCREAMS 'Blair Witch Project'." Stewie says.

"Are we still going the right way?" Lois asks.

"The scent is faint, but Meg definately went this way." Brian says, still following her scent.

Everyone continues to follow Brian, who's still following Meg's scent. Soon, the small dog stops and sniffs around in place.

"What's wrong?" Peter asks. "Did you lose the scent?"

"No." Brian answers. "But I'm picking up some other scents." He takes a few more sniffs. "Four of them." A few more sniffs. "One human, wearing heavy armor." More sniffs. "The others..."

"What is it?" Lois asks.

Brian looks at her. "I'm not sure." he answers. "Whatever the other scents are, they're not human. They're more like wolves."

"Oh my god!" Lois screams. "We have to hurry and find Meg!"

Chris looks over to the side. "Woah..."

At his voice, everyone turn their heads to notice a trail of broken trees that has already gained Chris' notice. Brian takes a few sniffs in the air.

"Meg went this way." Brian says. "And so did those wolves."

Lois quickly takes the lead as she follows the trail of destruction through the forest. Everyone else follows.

Meg walks out of the Currency Exchange. She's holding a thick mechanical card with a digital display on it. It reads "506".

Unfamilliar with the exchange rate of the two currencies, she was hoping that she would get more than she did. This is obviously not enough for a ticket to the Regal Lands.

"This sucks." she says to herself. "I need more money."

Meg puts the card in her pocket, then finaly looks forward. A young man with a crossbow strapped to his back is staring at her. More particular, he's staring at the stone that Meg is still carrying around.

"Is that the Nature Stone?" he asks.

"Yes." Meg answers, clutching it tighter to protect it.

"Then that menas you know where the Spirit of Nature is!"

Sadly, Meg looks to the side.

"Please, come with me!" the bowman says. "I have some people you MUST meet!"

Meg hesitates at first, but, not knowing anyone here, she decides to go with the bowman.

Not far from the Town Square, the bowman leads Meg to a small building. Outside, above the door, Meg reads a large red sign. "Latrop Deli". Inside is a moderate sized delicatessen with a counter spanning across the right wall. There are a total of 8 round tables widely spaced out across the rest of the dining room. At the table in the back left corner, a group of 5 people sits in wait.

An interesting looking group of people. While everyone else in Latrop is dressed in modern day clothing, these guys are garbed in an assortment of unique clothing. They all seem to scream out "Adventurer".

The first is an old man with long white hair. He's wearing a long, white wizard's robe that is lined at the bottom and the end of the sleeves with a gold colored stripe. I suppose he's the "Wizard" of the group.

The second is a bald man with a sleeveless karate gi on. The top is white, but the pants are black. He's wearing large metal braces on his wrists. The "Fighter" of the group is easy to identify.

The third is a woman with short red hair. She's wearing a blue sweater and a long skirt. The odd thing that makes her unique are the metal gauntlets over her hands. That, and the sheathed broadsword leaning on her chair, labels her a "Warrior".

The fourth is a man with short blonde hair wearing a black suit and tie. I mean, this guy could pass as a member of the secret service. He even got the black shades and earpiece! Let's classify him as a "Spy".

The fifth is a woman with long, pink hair. She's wearing white vest and black pair of pants. She's also sporting a pair of goggles that rests on her head. She kinda looks like a "Engineer" with that toolbelt around her waist.

The "Bowman", the one who led Meg to the deli, walks up to their table. Meg didn't pay much attention to his appearance at first, but seeing them with the others, she can't help but notice his green hoodie and blue vest. He removes the hood from his head to reveal his raggy brown hair.

The Spy leans to the side and looks at Meg. "Who's the girl?" he asks.

Everyone else at the table is now looking at Meg. The Bowman chuckles as he holds the back of his head.

"You know," he starts."I never asked for her name..."

"My name is Meg." Meg answers. "I don't know why I'm here."

The Wizard notices the stone in Meg's hands. "That's the Nature Stone!" he shouts. "Why do you have it?"

"And why isn't it glowing?" the Engineer adds.

"I don't know why it stopped glowing." Meg answers. "As for why I have it, Lily... gave it to me... before..."

Sadness prevents Meg from finishing her sentence, but she didn't need to. The others understand.

"The Spirit of Nature is gone?" the Warrior asks.

Everyone hold their heads down. "There is no hope for us." the Fighter says. "No hope at all..."

Meg looks at them. "I don't get it." she starts. "What's going on?"

The Bowman pulls up two chairs to the table. "Sit down, Meg." the Bowman starts. "There's a lot to tell." 


	7. A Sign of Hope

Meg Griffin: I Can Be A Hero Too!

A Family Guy FanFiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane

There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these aren't our characters and we can't profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 7: A Sign of Hope===

Late afternoon in Latrop Deli.

Meg is sitting at a table along with 6 other people: a Wizard, a Fighter, a Warrior, a Spy, an Engineer, and a Bowman. At the center of the table is the lightless Nature Stone.

A bit overwhelmed, Meg looks around at everyone. "Who ARE you guys?" she asks.

"My name is Arter." the Bowman answers. He then moves his hand to focus on each individual member.

Starting with the Wizard: "This is Olan."

Next, the Fighter: "This is Bronze."

Then the Warrior: "This is Jade."

After, the Spy: "This is Mr. Zone"

And last, the Engineer: "And this is Widgette."

"Together, we're known as the Hero Guild."

Hearing the group's name, Meg takes a quick look around the deli. She lets off a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?" Bronze asks.

"I get it." Meg says, disappointed. "A bunch of heroes in a deli."

The team looks at each other, confused. Meg shakes her head. "Nevermind." she says. "So... what did you want with Lily?"

"Her blessing." Olan answers. "With it, we can finally end the tyranny of Evil King Silld."

"Who's Silld?" Meg asks.

Everyone stares at her. "Do you live under a rock, or something?" Jade asks.

"Look!" Meg says, angrily. "I'm not from Octus, Octal, or whatever you call this realm, okay? So forgive me if I'm a little behind on the Current Events!"

"Calm down, Meg." Olan responds. "I'll explain to you who Silld is.

"Many years ago, the Octl Realm was ruled by the good Queen Platinum. She had two sons named Gover and Silld. Only one would become the future King. Silld felt that he should've been King, being the older of the two. However, it was Gover who became King.

"Silld was outraged by this decision and fled into seclusion. No one knew at the time, but in his seclusion, Silld studied the forbidden Arcane Arts. Through these arts, he has obtained immortality."

"He's immortal?" Meg asks. "If that's true, then how can he be stopped?"

"With the Blessings of the Spirits." Arter answers.

"Even the Arcane Arts can be stopped." Olan explains. "In the past, when the original Arcane Master tried to conquer the Octl Realm, a hero emerged. With the power of the 4 spirits, he was able to vanquish the evil Arcane Master.

"Silld knew of this weakness to the forbidden arts and took action. When he returned 2 years ago, he attacked the Regal Lands just to scatter the 4 Spirits apart. He then sent his forces to eliminate them.

"If Silld could eliminate just one of the spirits, then no one would be able to obtain the power to ever destroy him. That was his plan.

"Our only hope was The Champion, the defender of the Octl Realm."

Hearing that name, Meg quickly puts a frown on her face. Olan picks up on this quickly.

"I sense you have great hatred for The Champion." he says to her.

"Yeah." Meg answers. "I heard about how he was able to rescue the other three maidens in no time. Yet Lily lived in a forest cave for almost 2 years hanging on to hope!"

She closes her eyes as a single tear leaks out from her left one. "And what did she gain from it?"

"What do you intend to do?" Bronze asks.

"I'm going to the Regal Lands to find out why Lily was abandoned." Meg answers.

"That sounds like the best idea I've heard in a long time." Jade responds. "He didn't just abandon the Spirit of Nature. He abandoned us all."

Meg opens her eyes.

"The Champion is also the one who founded and leads the Hero's Guild." Olan continues. "It was on his command that we all seek out the Spirit of Nature in Pelica Woods.

"Our numbers were great back then. 40 of us went in... But only 6 came out."

"Doom Knight?" Meg asks.

"It started with his Blood Wolves." Arter starts. "There were thousands of them, but they were no match."

"As powerful as they are, they can't take much of a hit." Widgette says.

"But that overconfidence gave him an even greater edge." Mr. Zone explains. "Doom Knight appeared and started picking us off one at a time."

"We were no match for him at all." Bronze explains. "The battle quickly became a massacre."

"We, the survivors, made it here to Latrop, where we await The Champion's arrival." Olan explains. "But it's been too long. I wonder, did he purposly lead us to our deaths?"

Everyone sits at the table, not making a sound for awhile.

"Well I say," Jade starts, breaking the silence. "that we go with Meg and get some answers!"

"What's the point?" Bronze asks. "There's no one left who has the Spirit of Nature's blessing. Nothing we do now can help us."

"Damn it, Bronze!" Jade shouts. "We lost too much and suffered for too long! I, for one, want to know what was it all for!"

"So do I." Arter says.

Everyone looks at Olan. He digs in his pocket and pulls out a Credits Card. No, not VISA or MASTERCARD. One of those thick mechanical cards that's used for currency. His digital display reads "14051".

"How much is it to ride the transit to the Regal Lands?" he asks.

"Um, 5000 Credits." Meg answers.

"And how much does everyone have?"

To answer the old wizard's question, everyone pulls out their own Credits Card. What follows is a look of disappointment on their faces.

"I only have 506 Credits." Meg answers.

"That's more than I have." Widgette responds. "I only have 103 Credits."

"I only have 29." Arter says. "Sorry."

"I have 215." Bronze answers.

"51." Jade answers.

"I have 100." Mr. Zone answers.

Olan lets out a heavy sigh. "Am I the only one in this group that understands the value of saving money?" he asks.

Everyone, except for Meg, turn their heads to the side in shame. "So what do we do now?" Meg asks.

Olan thinks for a moment. "We only have enough for 3 of us to go to the Regal Lands." he says. "I want Meg to be one of them."

"No, Olan. I couldn't..."

Olan rises his hand to interrupt. "It's alright, Meg. You were the last person to see Lily alive. I think it's appropiate that you get to see The Champion.

"Arter. Jade. I want you two to accompany her."

"You got it!" Arter answers.

"I've got some choice words for that S.O.B.!" Jade answers.

"The rest of us will wait here for your return." Olan explains.

Later, in Pelica Woods...

The Griffin Family, with Chris' girlfriend, Anna, in place of Meg, all stop around a hole in the ground. Brian takes a few sniffs around.

"The scent goes down the hole." Brian says. "Meg must've fell through."

Brian sticks his head inside and takes a few sniffs. "Those wolves didn't follow her."

As soon as Brian clears himself from the hole, Lois jumps in.

"Lois!" Peter shouts.

"I'm okay!" Lois shouts back.

As she looks around, the rest of the family, one by one, jumps down into the hole. Brian, who was 3rd in after Peter, immediately continues sniffing around.

"It's dark in here!" Anna says. "I can't see anything!"

"Hold on!" Lois says, digging in her jacket pocket. "I brought my Flash Light with me."

Lois pulls out, then turns on a flashlight. With the new light source, and with Brian leading the way, navigating through the tunnels is a breeze. They soon make it to the underground spring, with clean water spouting out from the center. The size of the spring is the same as an Olympic Size Swimming Pool.

Brian stops and sniffs an area in front of the spring. "Meg was here." Brian explains. "And she wasn't alone." A few more sniffs. "She was with some woman." A few more sniffs. "They were eating fruit."

"So I guess Meg found some time to go on a date with someone as fat and desperate as her." Stewie chuckles.

Brian sniffs the area again. "Actually, she's kinda hot." he says.

"Smokin' Hot or Virgin Hot?" Peter asks.

One more sniff. "Virgin Hot."

"Get back to the fruit!" Chris says, excited. "Did they have any bananas?"

"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT THE HELL UP AND FOCUS?" Lois shouts. "We're here to find Meg!"

Except for Chris, everyone stares at Lois with their eyes wide open. "But Mom," Chris starts. "I'm hungry. None of us had anything to eat all day."

Hearing Chris talk about food, everyone else start to feeling the same hunger he does.

"We should stop for now and find some food." Brian says, sniffing in the air. "This way."

Brian leads everyone away from the fountain and into a nearby room. Moving the flashlight, Lois quickly finds a light switch on the wall. Turning it on illminates and reveals the room. It's a modern day kitchen. With the dual-side sink, tile floor, stove and oven, small table, and even a running refridgerator, it remindes them all of the kitchen in the Griffins Residence back in Quahog, without the cabinets and windows.

Chris quickly opens the refridgerator. All he sees is a wide assortment of fruits and vegetables. "It looks like Meg's girlfriend a Vegian." he says.

"That's Vegetarian, dear." Lois responds, pulling out a peach.

Night time.

Meg and The Hero Guild leave Latrop Deli, walking towards the Train Station. Meg is holding the Nature Stone.

"We'll accompany you to the Transport." Olan says to Meg.

"Thanks..."

Widgette looks at Meg. "What's wrong?" she asks.

Meg looks around. "Is there a curfew here or something?"

Olan stops to look around. The early night life of Latrop seems like any other well known city, with the Streetlights and Flashy Store Fronts. The only element missing from this scene is the people.

"Where is everybody?" Olan asks.

Everyone else stops to look. No one else is around. Trash and debris clutters a bit of the sidewalk, indicating that, at one point, somebody WAS here.

Soon, Meg finds something on the ground. Blood. A small splatter of it. It then seems to trail off into a nearby alley. She slowly follows the trail. Right at the beginning of the alley, she finds a young boy sitting with his back against the wall. He's covered in blood.

"EEEEEEEEEEK!"

At the sound of her shriek, the Hero Guild converge around Meg, who slowly kneels down to hold the boy. He's breathing is very rapid, yet weak. There's a pattern of 3 huge gashes on the front of his body.

"Who... DID this?" Bronze asks.

"It looks like a claw mark." Jade answers.

"More like a talon." Olan adds.

"A Blood Wolf." Mr. Zone says. "It must be in town."

The boy takes one deep breath, then stops breathing.

"No!" Meg shouts. "Don't die!"

At that moment, Meg's body begins to glow green. The boy she's holding is also covered in this new, green aura. Everyone watches as the deep wounds on his body begins to heal, then close up, as if they were never there. The young boy begins to cough before he resumes breathing. When the light fade, the boy opens his eyes. He sees Meg staring down at him.

"You saved me..." the boy says in a weak voice. "Thank you!"

He quickly jumps up to hug Meg. "Thank you!" he repeats in a stronger voice.

"Meg." Olan starts. "How did you do that?"

Meg looks at her hands. The boy's blood was no longer on them. "I... I don't know..." she answers.

"Meg!" Jade calls out. "That's the power of the Spirit of Nature! This is given to anyone who has her blessing!"

"Her blessing?" Meg asks. "But Lily never..."

It then flashes into her head. Her exposure to the Nature Stone when it was shining brightly in Lily's hands.

"The light!" Meg says. "The light from the Nature Stone! That was her blessing, wasn't it?"

Thinking about that moment sparks the return of the Green Aura. Everyone is looking at her.

"GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLL!"

In the distance, they can hear the sounds of a Blood Wolf. Terrified, the young boy clings to Meg tightly.

"Hero Guild!" Olan shouts. "We have work to do!" 


	8. Heroes Take Flight

Meg Griffin: I Can Be A Hero Too!

A Family Guy FanFiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane

There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these aren't our characters and we can't profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 8: Heroes Take Flight===

The citizens of Latrop run down the street in panic. When they all pass by, the survivors of the Hero Guild stand there, weapons drawn and ready for battle. Behind them, to the left, is Meg Griffin, holding a very frightened young boy.

And can you blame him? Before them all is a legion of 8 Blood Wolves. One for each of them. The boy was already attacked by one of them.

But, wait. There's a woman in black walking up behind the Blood Wolves. She's looking right at Meg. Clearly, she's the mastermind behind the attack.

"Who are you?" Meg shouts. "And why are you attacking the town?"

"My name is Moonlight." the woman answers. "And I came here to clean up Doom Knight's messes."

"You work for Silld?" Arter asks.

"Mmm Hmm." Moonlight answers while she nods her head. She then looks at the boy clinging to Meg. "Boy!" she shouts to him. "You were attacked by one of the Blood Wolves! How did you survive?"

"S-S-S-She healed me!" the boy answered, obviously refering to Meg.

"I see." Moonlight responds. She turns her focus towards Meg again. "Then I was right for coming here.

"Doom Knight attacked you, thinking you were another hero seeking the Spirit of Nature's blessing. But when you simply ran away from him like a coward, he believed you not to be a threat.

"And, of course, the fact that you couldn't even protect one helpless little spirit... You're just not hero material..."

"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU BITCH!" Meg shouts. Moonlight obviously struck a chord.

The boy tugs at Meg's shirt. "Don't let her get to you." he says.

"...But I know better than to underestimate anyone." Moonlight continues. "I knew that if you were with the Spirit of Nature, then you had to have received her blessing.

"So I 'borrowed' the last of Doom Knight's Blood Wolves to track you down and eliminate you. I won't let ANYONE hurt MY beloved Emperor. Especially not some weak little brat!"

Olan raises his hand. In a puff of smoke, an oak staff with a white crystal attached to it appears in his hand. "For your sake, I hope Doom Knight isn't emotionally attached to these creatures." he says.

Moonlight points towards the group of heroes. "Kill them all!" she shouts. At her command, the 8 Blood Wolves jump towards them.

Olan's staff glows with a bright red aura. "Fire Ball!" At the command of his voice, a blast of fire shoots out from the orb on his staff. It slams into one of the approaching wolves, knocking it back next to Moonlight. When it lands, it disappears in a mixture of black smoke and flames.

Jade runs toward two of the charging wolves. Although the wolves are running rather close to each other, Jade still manages to run between them. She theb spins her broadsword in a full circle to slash them both. Upon receiving their mortal blows, each of the wolves vanish in a puff of block smoke. "That's right!" Jade boasts. "Two for one!"

Two more blood wolves charge forward. Arter and Mr. Zone are standing their grounds. Arter pulls back on his crossbow, with an arrow loaded. From inside his suit jacket, Mr. Zone pulls out a Revolver and points it at one of the wolves. The two wolves jump up in the air towards the two heroes. At the same time. they adjust their aim, then fire. A bullet strikes one in the head while an arrow strikes the other in the neck. Instant kill shots, both wolves disappears in puffs of black smoke.

As another wolf races toward him, Bronze gets into a fighting stance. The blood wolf pounces at him, but he jumps out the way at the last minute. Still in range to do so, the blood wolf swings it's talon claw to slash. Bronze stops the attack with a hand thrust to the talon. Before the wolf recovered, the fighter then charges at him with a powerful punch to the face. The blood wolf flies back, fading away in a puff of black smoke.

Widgette slides her goggles from atop her head to her eyes. Through the goggles, a digital display measures and calculate a blood wolf's speed and direction. Determining it's velocity, She can easily dodge it when it jumps at her. The evasion was by mere inches. When the wolf turns around to charge Widgette again, she has a remote in her hand. On one of it's legs, the engineer managed to strap a remote bomb. "The hand is quicker than the eye." she says as she presses the button.

Not very far from the small explosion, Meg slowly backs up to a brick wall. The boy is right behind her, backing up with her. A blood wolf slowly moves towards them, getting ready to strike. "Come on!" Meg shouts. The wolf jumps at them. Meg quickly grabs the boy then dives out the way. Head first, the wolf crashes into the wall, then falls onto the ground. Disorientated from the blow to the head, the blood wolf slowly struggles to get back to his feet. Meg runs as fast as she can towards the wolf and, with all of her might, kicks it right in it's neck. The wolf coughs up, struggling to breathe. After a few seconds, it lets off a soft death roll before disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

"Worthless mutts." Moonlight says to herself. "I don't know what Doom Knight sees in them."

Meg is standing her ground, breathing heavily. The boy runs up to her. The Hero Guild slowly advances toward Moonlight.

"Not tonight." Moonlight shouts.

She flies up into the air. "She can fly?" Widgette shouts.

Moonlight swoops down towards Meg at an attempt at a cheap shot. Meg quickly swipes back as she flies back.

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!"

As Moonlight flies back up away from the ground, her hair is noticably ruffled. "You rotten brat!" she shouts, holding the top of her head. She then flies away.

Everyone runs up to Meg. "Are you okay, Meg?" Olan asks.

Meg is still looking up at Moonlight flying out of sight. "Yeah..." Meg says.

Meg opens her hand. A clump of black hair floats out her hand and flies away along the winds.

Later, at the train station, Arter, Jade, and Meg are outside the train as it readys for departure to the Regal Lands. The remainder of the Hero Guild are there to see them off. The young boy is with them.

"Thanks again." Meg says to Olan. "I wouldn't be able to make it to the Regal Lands without you."

"We'll be back as soon as possible." Arter says.

"Take care!" Widgette shouts as she waves at them.

"Come back soon!" the young boy adds.

The three of them board the train. Behind them, the doors closes, then, a minute later, the train moves toward it's destination.

Inside the train, Meg is walking around the open area. All of the seats are up in the next car. She's about to move up, but Jade calls out to her.

"Do you know how to use a sword?" she asks.

An odd question. "No." Meg answers.

From her side, Jade takes off a sheathed sword. It's not her broadsword that she still has on her back, but a plain longsword. She hands it to Meg.

"I grabbed an extra sword from the deli before we came here." Jade explains.

"It'll be a good while before we reach the Regal Lands." Arter says. "We think it's a good idea that you learn, at least, some basic combat skills."

Meg pulls a small part of the sword. She stares at the metal for awhile.

The next morning.

The Griffins, with their guest, Anna, walk out of the entrance to Lily's underground spring in Pelica Woods. Well rested and bellies filled with fruits and vegetables, Lois is eager to resume the search for Meg. Brian takes the lead as he sniffs the area for the missing daughter's scent. Despite the time lapse from now and Meg's journey through the forest, he is still able to track her.

It takes some time, but Brian leads them to a statue of a woman with a flower in her hair. She appears to be pushing something, or someone.

"An odd statue." Lois says.

"She's pretty hot." Peter says.

The way Lois is looking at Peter right now, it looks like she'll strike him at any minute.

Brian sniffs the statue. "You guys." he starts. "Remember that virgin hot woman by the underground spring with Meg?"

"Yeah." Lois answers.

"I think this is her."

Everyone stares at the statue.

"Are you sure?" Anna asks.

Brian sniffs the statue again. "Positive."

"My God!" Peter says. "What happened to her?"

Stewie scoffs. "She was turned into stone! Duh!" he replies.

Holding his head down, Peter softly pinches between his eyes as he closes them. He then lets out a heavy sigh. "I know that, you little smart-ass!" Peter mutters. An increase in volume to his voice. "I mean HOW was she turned to stone!"

"Well how the bloody hell would ANY of us know that, Fatman?" Stewie shouts back.

"Hold it!" Brian shouts. He takes a few sniffs in the air. "Oh crap! We gotta go, now!"

"What's wro..."

Interrupting Lois, some of the trees around them are ripped apart by three blood wolves. They all surround and slowly circle around the family.

"What ARE these things?" Lois screams.

Everyone bunch up together as the three blood wolves continue to circle their new prey. 


	9. Time To Heal

Meg Griffin: I Can Be A Hero Too!

A Family Guy FanFiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane

There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these aren't our characters and we can't profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 9: Time To Heal===

Pelica Woods. Next to the petrified Lily.

Three blood wolves, blood dripping from their mouths and large bird talons to replace their paws. They're slowly circling the Griffins.

"If anyone have any good ideas, then now is the time to share!" Brian says, desperately.

At the same time, all three wolves jump at the group of six. "Look out!"

On Lois's command, everyone jumps out the way, then scatter. Paired off, the Griffins, and Anna, run off in 3 different directions. The blood wolves also seperate to give chase to each pair.

Peter and Lois run through the forest. The blood wolf persuing them is taking the time to destroy the trees in it's way with the powerful talons. This allows the married couple it increase their lead. This changes quickly when they make it to a huge clearing in the forest. When the wolf makes it here, Peter and Lois are already halfway across the clearing. The wolf leaps high in the air and lands in front of them to halt their advance.

They skid to a complete stop. "Damn!" Peter shouts. "How are we supposed to get away from these things?"

The blood wolf quickly turns around, then slowly advances upon it's prey. As she backs up with her husband, Lois notices something. Pass the clearance beahind the wolf, a red light slowly illuminates among the trees.

"Get out the way!" From where the light is glowing, a young boy's voice calls out to them. The wolf stops and turns it's head to focus on the source of the voice behind him. Peter grabs Lois' hand. They both run off to the side. The red light turns into a large fireball, speeding towards the wolf. Not reacting in time, the fireball engulfs it. The wolf is reduced to a mixure of fading flames and black smoke.

Lois and Peter watches as an old wizard and a young boy emerge from the forest and walk over to them. "Are you hurt?" the wizard asks.

"No, we're fine." Lois says. "Thanks for saving us."

"That was AWESOME!" Peter shouts.

Lois snaps her head at her husband. "Peter!" she cries. "We have to find Brian and the kids!"

"What's wrong?" the boy asks.

"There were three of those wierd wolves!" Peter explains. "We all got seperated!"

"We'll come with you." the wizard says.

Chris and Anna are running through the forest. One of the wolves are in persuit. The area they're running through is cluttered with broken trees, so the wolf isn't stopping as often to destroy the scenery. This puts the boyfriend and girlfriend in greater danger. The lead they have over the blood wolf, although great, is slowly shrinking.

Soon, Anna gets her foot jammed under a branch on the ground, then falls to the floor.

"Chris!" she shouts.

"Anna!" he shouts back as runs back to her.

The blood wolf gets to her first, but before it can touch her, Chris tackles it. The two tumble across the ground for awhile. Eventually, Chris manages to get on top of it's back and pins it down with his weight. His arm is wrapped around the wolf's neck in an attempt to suffocate it into submission. The wolf's head flails around violently. Eventually, it manages to bite Chris' arm.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Chris!" Horrified at what she saw, Anna screams out to him.

When the wolf lets go, Chris rolls off to the ground, holding his bloody left arm. Short of breath, it takes awhile for the blood wolf to prepare for another attack. When it does, it jumps up to pounce at Chris. Before it lands, however, a man in a black and white karate gi jumps out of nowhere and kicks the wolf in midair. The wolf crashes to the ground, then slowly gets up. On it's feet, it lets of a low, but intimidating growl.

"gggrrrlll..."

"POW!"

A gunshot is heard. Hit right between it's eyes, the blood wolf turns into a puff of black smoke then disappears. Chris and Anna turn their heads to find a secret service agent, dressed in black, placing a Revolver back in his suit jacket.

"Nice shot!" the fighter calls out to him.

"They're both injured." the agent responds, moving towards Anna.

The fighter kneels down to observe Chris' bite mark. A lot of blood is covering the arm. Chris, however is more concerned about Anna. The agent picks her up in his arms. Her right foot is turned a bit inwards and is constantly twiching. The pain she's feeling right now is expressed on her face. She tries, however, to hide it, as she is more concerned about Chris' injury.

The last blood wolf is after the duo of Brian and Stewie. The forest seems to be thinning, so there's not many trees around to distract it with. It doesn't even matter, anyway, because the two Griffins now find themselves at the base of a tall cliff. Turning around, they see the wolf slowly closing in on them.

"Don't just stand there!" Brian shouts to Stewie. "Pull out that Ray Gun you always carry around!"

"You know," Stewie says, in a more comical and relaxed tone. "I completely forgot all about it!"

Stewie reaches his hand behind his back and quickly points the aforementioned Ray Gun at the wolf, who's slowly approaching.

"Burn in Hell, you twisted mutated offspring of..."

Before Stewie finishes his rant, the wolf swats the Ray Gun out of his hand. With nothing left, Stewie quickly backs up next to Brian, who has his back agains the cliff wall.

"That's why I hate Action Movies." Stewie calmly says to Brian.

"Nice last words." Brian says, also in a calm voice.

The blood wolf is about to advance on them. Without warning, it is hit with a blast of energy. After a short flash of electrical light, the blood wolf evaporates into a puff of black smoke.

Brian and Stewie look beyond where the wolf was standing. Holding Stewie's Ray Gun is a woman with long pink hair and a large tool belt around her waist. The Ray Gun is sparking a bit in the middle.

"Nice toy." the woman says.

The Ray Gun lets off a large spark, then falls apart in her hand. "Well, it WAS a nice toy."

Brian and Stewie walks over to her. "Thanks for saving us!" Brian says.

She looks at Brian. "A talking dog?" she asks. "How are you able to..."

"Look." Stewie says. "No one knows WHY he can talk, and no one cares. We just kinda... roll... with it."

The woman shruds her shoulders. "Whatever." she responds.

Later, Peter and Lois, with the wizard and the young boy, runs back to the area with the statue of the woman. At the same time, Brian and Stewie, with the pink haired woman, enters the scene.

"Brian! Stewie!" Peter shouts.

Lois runs over to, picks up, and hugs her baby boy. "Oh, my little baby boy!" she cries, kissing him. "You're alright!"

"Have you guys seen Chris and Anna?" Peter asks Brian.

A sound of ruffled grass prompts Brian to turn his head. "Oh no..."

The agent and fighter walks onto the scene. The fighter is helping Chris walk forward. His bloody arm, now bandaged, is in clear view. The agent is still carrying Anna is his arms. The expressions on both hers and Chris' face shows that they are in a lot of pain.

"Chris! Anna!" Lois cries as she runs over to them.

Everyone converges over to them. "They're both injured, Olan." the agent says to the wizard. "We need to return to Latrop immediately!"

On the train to the Regal Lands.

Sweating furiously, Meg continues to swing her sword through the air. She's not swinging it wildly, but with the skill of an above novice swordsman. Arter and Jade are sitting by, watching. Arter is holding onto the Nature Stone.

"Wow!" Arter says. "You're a quick learner!"

"Thanks." Meg answers, not stopping. She can be heard breathing heavily.

"Maybe you should take a break." Jade suggests.

Meg stops to answer. "I'm fine." A deep breath later, she resumes her trainning.

After a quick pause, Jade truns over to Arter. "Arter, go and get us something to drink from the next car." she says.

"Okay." Arter says. With the Nature Stone in hand, he exits the train car, leaving the two females by themselves.

Meg stops to catch her breath. Just as she begins to move her hands again. Jade grasps them softly to keep her from moving.

"What's bothering you, Meg?"

"Nothing, Jade!"

"Be honest."

Meg doesn't answer right away. In her mind, she can still hear Moonlight's voice.

"...the fact that you couldn't even protect one helpless little spirit... You're just not hero material..."

"There was nothing I could do!" Meg cries. "If I was strong enough, maybe if I didn't panic, then Lily would still be..."

"Stop it, Meg!" Jade interrupts. "Don't blame yourself for what happened to Lily! There was nothing you, or anyone, could've done against the Doom Knight! He's just that powerful!"

Letting her sword fall to the floor, Meg drops down to her knees and starts crying again. "Why did she have to die?" she asks. "Why?"

Jade kneels down and wraps her arms around Meg. "It'll be okay." she says, trying her best to comfort her. "It'll be okay."

As Jade is holding the crying Meg, Arter comes in with 3 cans of juice. Seeing them, he realizes that it's not a good time to bother them, so he returns to the other car to give them some privacy.

Latrop Deli. Late afternoon.

Olan, the wizard, comes out of the back door. He sits at the table with his fellow heroes, Bronze, Mr. Zone, and Widgette, and his new guests, Lois, Peter, Brian, and Stewie.

"Your son, Chris, is sleeping upstairs, and young Anna is by his side." he says to Lois. "It'll be awhile, but they will both recover fully from their injuries,"

"Thank you SO much for everything, Olan." Lois responds.

Peter chuckles. "So, you guys are all 'Heroes', right?"

"Yes." Olan answers.

Peter chuckles some more. "And you all hang out at this deli?"

"...Yes."

"So, I guess that would make you a bunch of 'Heroes in a Deli'! Hehhehhehhehhehhehhehheh!"

Everyone looks at Peter. "That was just horrible." Brian says.

Mr. Zone and Widgette looks at each other. "Didn't Meg mention that same joke when she first came here?" she asks him.

"Meg?" Lois turns to Widgette. "Meg was here?"

Olan looks at Lois. "You know Meg?"

"Yes!" Lois answers, now facing Olan. "We're her family! She ran away two nights ago, and we've been looking for her ever since!"

"Yeah!" Peter adds. "She owes us a new TV!"

Lois goves Peter a fierce backslap to the face. "Shut up, Peter!" Lois shouts at him. "Just shut the hell up!"

Peter holds his face where he was slapped. "Okay! Okay!" he replies. "Just calm down!"

"How do you know Meg?" Brian asks, ignoring Lois and Peter at this moment.

"Another member of the Hero Guild found her in town." Olan explains.

"Can you please tell us where she went?" Lois asks.

"To the Regal Lands." Olan answers. "She should be back in a few days. You're all welcome to wait here until then."

Lois thinks about this for awhile. She really wants to find Meg as soon as possible, but with Chris and Anna injured, it's probably better if they all stop to recooperate.

It's really hard for her to give this answer, so she pauses before she does. "We'll wait here." Lois says. "Thank you for your hospitality, Olan." 


	10. The Calm Before The Storm

Meg Griffin: I Can Be A Hero Too!

A Family Guy Fan Fiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane. There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these are not our characters and we cannot profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 10: The Calm Before The Storm===

The next morning.

On the roof of Latrop Deli, Bronze throws a few quick jabs towards Lois, but she easily deflects them with her hand. Bronze then attempts a fierce punch to the head. Lois ducks under the oncoming attack and comes back up with a rising high kick. Hitting the mark, Bronze is knocked up into the sky. Before he lands back down on the rooftop, she jumps up and meets him with a spinning jump kick in midair. Bronze flies to the side, tumbling a bit on the roof. Slow to get up, he holds his back.

"I thought you were joking when you asked for a sparring match." Bronze says. "You didn't strike me as the fighting type. You're very powerful."

Lois smiles. "If you want," she starts. "I could take it easy."

Bronze stands straight up for a second, then eases back into a tradtional karate fighting stance. "No." he responds, smiling back at her. "I don't always get a chance to fight someone as skillful as yourself. I want you to give it your all!"

Lois' smile goes away. "All of these skills couldn't help my family yesterday." she thinks to herself.

Inside, on the top floor, Anna is in a chair next to Chris' bed. Still laying under the covers, Chris apears to be feverish. Soon, Olan comes into the room.

"Will Chris be okay?" Anna asks.

"It will take some time for the poison of the Blood Wolf to run it's course," Olan explains. "but when it does, he will make a full recovery."

Anna looks back at Chris. "Are you sure the poison won't kill him?" she asks.

"Blood Wolves aren't as powerful as they used to be." Olan explains. "In the distant past, their poison could kill the mightiest of people in mere seconds. But, as time moved forward, their poison loss it's potency. Nowadays, it can do no more than induce a fever."

Chris begins to shudder. Anna continus to watch over her boyfriend.

Downstais, inside the deli's dining room, Widgette is sitting behind the counter, preparing the bread and meat. Stewie and Peter are sitting at a table. Each of them have a plate of pancakes in front of them. As Stewie is eating his, Peter is staring at his own.

"Hey!" Widgette shouts. "You and your son both wanted me to make pancakes for breakfast! Why aren't you eating them?"

Peter looks over to her. "Sorry, Widgette." he responds. "I'm just too worried about my family to eat. My wife's pissed off, my son's poisoned, his girlfriend's injured, and my daughter..." Peter lets out a heavy sigh. "...She ran away because of me. It's my fault. Everything that happened to my family is MY fault."

"Well, what do you plan to do about it?" Widgette asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look at your wife, Lois, for instance. While we're all waiting for Meg to return, she's on the roof trainning with Bronze. Maybe you should also take up a combative art to better protect your loved ones."

Peter thinks about it for awhile.

"Are you gonna eat your pancakes?" Stewie asks, already finished with his plate.

Peter slides his plate away from Stewie while shielding his food with his arms.

"You don't have to be a dick about it." Stewie responds.

"Maybe you can go on a little quest." Widgette explains as she walks over with a stack of 5 new pancakes on a plate. She swaps it for Stewie's empty plate. "There's a cave just north of the city. At the end of it grows a special tree."

"How can a tree grow in a cave?" Peter asks.

"You'll see." Widgette answers. "Bring me some of the leaves from that tree, and I'll make something very useful for you."

"Sounds good!" Peter says. "But wouldn't you rather come along?"

"Can't." Widgette answers. "The guy who normally runs the deli called in sick, and I have to stay here and work in his stead."

"Alright then!" Peter says, standing up. "I'm off!"

"So, can I have your pancakes now, Fat Man?" Stewie asks again.

Peter looks at Stewie's plate. It's empty. "My God, Stewie!" he shouts. "What, do you INHALE your food?"

In the middle of Latrop, a lookout tower rises high above the town. At the top, Brian and Mr. Zone, along with the young boy, are watching the outskirts for enemy attacks.

"Never thought we had to use this old lookout." Mr. Zone says. "But, then again, I'd never thought Silld's forces would ever try to attack the town. Of course, with the Spirit of Nature gone, it's only a matter of time."

Even though Mr. Zone said that to himself, Brian overheard it all. "Silld? Spirit of Nature? What are you talking about?" he asks.

"You've seen it in Pelica Woods, right?" Mr. Zone asks Brian, not moving his head to face him. "The statue of the long hair woman."

"The smoking hot virgin with a flower in her hair, yes."

"That's the Spirit of Nature. She's one of the 4 Spirits of Octl that governs the 8 elements of Octl."

"8 Elements? I thought there were only four!"

"Maybe where you're from!" the boy says in response to Brian. "But here in the Octl Realm, we recognize 8!

"The ones that you're probably familliar with, Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire, are what we call the Primary Elements. Then there's Ice, Lightning, Metal, and Plant. We call these Secondary Elements because they're all created by the Primary Elements. But since both group of elements are equal in strength and potential, they are all recognized the same."

"Wow!" Brian says to the boy. "You sure know quite a bit for someone so young!"

The boy turns his head to look out over the town. "This is all basic knowledge you need to know if you want to know how to use magic. My mom was a sorceress. She's the one who taught me all of this."

"Was?"

The boy does not respond back to Brian.

"It took us awhile to recognize him." Mr. Zone says, breaking the silence. "His name is Simon. His parents were both members of the Heroes Guild. They were among 34 killed two years ago battling the Doom Knight."

"Simon." Brian says to the boy. "I... I'm sorry..."

"Forget it." he responds. The cheer in his voice a few seconds ago is gone.

Another moment of silence, quickly broken by Simon.

"Hey!" he shouts, looking down at the ground. "It's the fat guy that was with you!"

Brian and Mr. Zone looks down. Peter, with Stewie on his back, is walking down the street.

"It's Peter and Stewie!" Brian asks. "Where're they going?"

Meanwhile, on the train to the Regal Lands...

Meg has taken a break from trainning long enough to sit down and stare out the window. The Nature Stone is resting in her hands. Arter and Jade are sitting in the seats across from and facing Meg's.

"How long does it take to reach the Regal Lands?" Meg asks, calmly.

"3 days from Latrop." Jade answers.

"3 days?" Arter cries. "Aw, man!"

"It's alright." Meg responds. "I could use the reprieve."

Meg continues to stare out the window. Her voice is unusually calm. She sounds relaxed, but at the same time, she also sounds drained.

Arter leans over to Jade. "What does 'reprieve' mean?" he whispers to her.

"A break from danger and bad times." Jade whispers back.

"And that's a good thing, right?" Arter whispers again.

Jade sighs and shakes her head. Hearing all of this, Meg can't help but giggle. However, a quick smile on her face is just as quickly replaced with a look of curiosity as she notices a cloaked individual walking towards the 3 of them. Noticing her eyes focusing on something else, Jade and Arter quickly turn their heads to see the cloaked person, who now stands before them all.

"That is the Nature Stone." the figure says, in a female voice. "How did you get it?"

Meg hesitates for awhile to answer, but she eventually does. "Lily, the Spirit of Seasons, gave it to me." she responds with a bit more volume in her voice.

From the sleeve of the cloak, the hooded figure pulls another stone, simillar to Meg's, and holds it out in front of them. Jade recognizes the stone.

"That's the Planet Stone!" Jade says. "Who ARE you?"

Meg thinks for only a second. "You're Grace, aren't you?" she asks. "The Spirit of the Planet?"

The hooded figure removes the hood. She is a young woman with a full head of thick, curly, brown hair. Arter and Jade recognizes her instantly. "You ARE the Spirit of the Planet!" Arter says, excited.

"That's right." Grace confirms. She then turns to face Meg. "How did you know my name?"

"Lily told me." Meg answers.

"Then you DID see her!" Grace's eyes widens with hope. "Where is she? How is she doing?"

Meg eyes slighty closes, adding to the sadness in her new facial expression. "She was turned to stone by the Doom Knight." she explains.

Grace drops her stone to the floor. For a couple of seconds, she just stands there. Meg, Arter, and Jade can all see tears building up in her eyes. Next, the Spirit drops to her knees and starts to cry.

"Lily." she sobs.

The three all kneel down around her. "I'm sorry, Grace." Meg says, trying to hold back tears of her own.

Grace continues to cry. "I don't understand why. The Champion was supposed to protect her." she looks up at Jade. "He knew where she was. We all did. I don't understand why he sent the Heroes Guild instead of going himself!" Grace shakes her head. "Now they're all gone, all of them, slain by the Doom Knight. And now, Lily's gone... Lily..."

"We're not all dead, Grace!" Arter says. "Some of us survived!"

Grace looks at them. "Are you all members of the Heores Guild?" she asks.

Meg turns to face them. "Just Arter and Jade." she answers. "I'm not a hero. I'm just a lost little..."

Jade interrupts Meg. "Don't listen to her, Grace. Meg is a hero in her own right!"

"Yeah!" Arter adds. "She fought with us against the Doom Wolves in Latrop! She also used the Blessing of the Spirit of Nature to save a young boy's life!"

Grace looks at Meg with a faint smile on her face. "That sounds like a hero to me." she says.

Meg smiles. "Th-Thank you!" she says.

"Do you know where The Champion is now?" Arter asks.

"I don't know." Grace answers. "I heard from Vanna and Macy that The Champion fled the Octl Realm."

Meg holds her head down. "So he's not even at the Regal Lands." she mutters.

"Damn it!" Jade shouts, pounding her fist on the floor. "He left us! He left us to die!"

Arter holds his head down. "What was it all for?" he asks himself.

Grace hesitiates to ask, but eventually does. "Could I please ask you heroes for your assistance?"

The three all look at her. "What do you need?" Meg asks.

"Ever since I returned, King Gover, for some reason, ordered me to be confined within Gaia Tower. I haven even seen him in the past 2 years. But, just recently, the Souls of the 4 Spirit Stones returned to the Regal Lands."

"The souls?" Meg starts to ask, but she quickly understands. "You mean the glowing aura?"

"That's right. It's important that the souls are never seperated from the stones. So when the 4 Souls were gathered there, I had to leave and retrieve my Planet Stone at any cost.

"As far as I know, no one is aware that I left the Regal Lands. But I fear that when I return with the Planet Stone, the mood is going to change for the worst. I don't know exactly what's going to happen, but I know I'll need some heroes by my side."

Arter is the first to stand up. "Something funny is going on in the Regal Lands." he says. "We've gotta check it out!"

Jade is the next to stand. "We may even find out where The Champion went!" she says. "You can't keep me out of this!"

Finally, Meg stands up, holding onto the Nature Stone. "I'm sure Lily would've asked me to help in any way I can." Meg says, with a smile on her face. "I can be a Hero, too!"

Picking up the Planet Stone, Grace stands on her feet. "Thank you, heroes." 


	11. Early Autumn

Meg Griffin: I Can Be A Hero Too!

A Family Guy Fan Fiction written by Week85

Family Guy is created by and/or is property of Seth MacFarlane. There's probably some more legal mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is that these are not our characters and we cannot profit off of them in any financial way.

===Chapter 11: Early Autumn===

North of Latrop is a cave. Inside the cave, the party of 4 is about to reach the end of it. Peter, Stewie, Brian, and Simon find a large area with an open ceiling, allowing the sun to shine through. The hard rock ground ends here and is replaced by soft soil. With access to soil so rich in nutrients, and the blessings of the weather, sun and rain, this room can easily support vegetation. Evidence of that is the huge tree standing in the center of the room.

"This must be the tree Widgette was talking about!" Peter shouts.

Everyone runs up to it, then stand in it's shade for awhile. Looking up, they see the sunlight glittering through the leaves. The leaves and branches sway along with the wind.

"Well, go on, Fat Man!" Stewie shouts. "Let's pick some leaves and get the hell out of this 16-bit dungeon!"

Peter reaches for a couple of the leaves from the tree, but Simon quickly calls out to him.

"Hold it!" he says. Simon studies the tree real quick. "Something's not right!"

Everyone looks at him. "What's wrong, Simon?"

"The leaves." he answers. "Why are they changing colors now?"

Everyone looks up at the leaves. They did see this, but didn't think that it warrent any real notice. As most trees in the autumn season, the leaves, once green, are sporting a variety of colors, including shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown.

"Autumn foliage." Brian responds.

They stare at the tree a little longer.

Hours later, back on the top floor at Latrop Deli...

Chris is still in bed. Very tired, he's ready to drift off to sleep. He looks up and sees a female looking down at him.

"Can you read me a bedtime story, Mom?" he mutters.

She smiles. Although moments like this make Chris seem childish and immature, she can't help but enjoy this seemingly innocent attitude. Wishing to fulfil her boyfriend's request, Anna looks around the room, looking for something to read. She finds a bookshelf filled with books.

"I'll be right back." Anna says, stroking Chris' hair.

Picking up the crutch given to her by the Hero Guild, Anna makes her way across the room to the bookshelf, careful not to put any pressure on her injured ankle. At the bookshelf, she picks a book at random. It's an old, thick book with a worn blue cover. With the book in hand, she slowly returns to her seat by Chris' bed. Opening the book, she begins to read aloud the 1st page:

"Magic relies on the powers and blessings of the 8 elements. Without understanding their relationship with each other, Magic is impossible to use.

"The 4 Primary Elements are Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire. The 4 Secondary Elements are Ice, Lightning, Metal, and Plant. The Secondary Elements are byproducts of the Primary Elements. However, because they are equal in strength and potential, they are all recognized the same.

"Thus, we have the 8 Element System of Magic..."

Anna stops. Chris' soft snoring interrupts her. Now that he's asleep. There's no need to continue reading...

But Anna doesn't close the book. The small passage she read has gained her intrest. Silently, Anna continues to read the book.

"Olan!"

Downstairs, Simon, followed by Peter, Brian, and Stewie, burst through the Deli Doors. The Latrop Deli is closed for the day. The Hero Guild, Olan, Mr. Zone, Widgette, and Bronze, are all sitting at a table. Lois is sitting down with them.

"What's wrong, child?" Olan asks.

"Look!"

Simon pull out a small bag and dumps the contents in the middle of the table. It a collection of leaves that quickly spreads all over.

"Damnit!" Lois says. "I JUST cleaned this table!"

Widgette picks up a red leaf. "Where did you get these leaves?" she asks.

"From that tree in the cave north of the city." Peter answers.

"And they were on the trees, just like this?" Olan asks.

"Yeah." Brian answers. "Leaves don't usually change color like this until after the Summer."

"But it's still the middle of Spring." Olan responds.

Olan gets up out of his seat. He then walks toward the door. Everyone looks at him.

"Olan!" Simon calls out. "Where are you going?"

The next morning.

Meg and Arter are staring out the window of the train, still leading for the Regal Lands. They are quickly passing by a field of trees. All of them are filled with the colors of Autumn.

"I LOVE the way the trees look this time of year." she says. "It just makes you want to go out for a romantic stroll in the breeze."

Arter looks at Meg. He then looks outside.

"A-A-Are g-girls into that k-kind of thing?" He asks, nervously.

From behind, Jade pulls Arter back by his ear. Meg turns to took.

"Let's go, Romeo!" Jade says.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go!" Arter shouts.

As Jade drags Arter out of the train car, Grace walks in and over to Meg. She still appears to be a bit sad.

"Are you okay?" Meg asks.

"I'm fine." Grace answers. "May I join you?"

"Sure!"

Grace walks over to the window and stares outside along with Meg.

"The trees are so beautiful this time of year, aren't they?" Meg asks.

"They are." Grace replies. "But something's not right."

"Yeah, I was going to ask... Isn't it Springtime here?"

"Yes. The trees are changing too soon. The Souls and the Stones have been seperated too long."

"Huh?" Meg is still a bit lost in the matter.

"If Lily told you about us, then I'm sure she mentioned the opposing elements."

Meg thinks for awhile. "There are 8 elements..." Meg says, speaking her thoughts aloud. "Each Spirit watches over 2 of them... Lily watched over Water and Plant... Grace watches over Wind and Earth... Um, Macy was, um, Lightning and Metal... And Vanna... Fire and Ice!" She takes a deep breath after remembering all of that.

"Very good, Meg!" Grace praises. "Each of us, the 4 Spirits, watch over an opposing pair of elements. If brought together improperly, the energy from any pair of opposite elements can bring forth great destruction. That is the dangers of the 8 Element System.

"So, throughout the ages, four females are chosen to become Spirits of Octl and safeguard against..."

"Meg! Grace!"

Meg and Grace turn their heads. Arter and Jade are running over to them. The tone in their voices and the look on their faces indicate trouble.

"What's wrong?" Grace asks.

"The passengers on the train!" Jade says. "They're gone!"

"What?" Meg asks, looking around. "What happened to them?"

"We don't know!" Arter explains. "The train is just empty!"

"We're heading for the Train Conductor right now!" Jade says. "There's NO way we're leaving you two alone!"

Meg picks up the Nature Stone and her longsword. She and Grace then joins Arter and Jade moving up to the front of the train.

They don't get far without incident. 2 cars later, the party of 4 are stopped by 3 uniformed swordsmen. Their White Uniforms, with the gold sash over the right shoulders and the matching white bucket-like hats, are easily identified by all but one in the party of 4.

"Who are these guys?" Meg asks.

"The Rogu." Jade answers. "An order of guards sworn to protect the Throne of Octl."

"Well, where did they come from?" Arter shout. "They weren't there when we first came through here!"

"What do you want?" Grace asks.

One of the Rogu Swordsmen pulls out his sword from the sheeth on his side. In response, Jade pulls out her broadsword and Arter pulls out his crossbow.

"We have orders from King Gover." he says, looking at Grace. "You are to be killed immediately."

Hearing those words, Meg shoves the Nature Stone into Grace's hands for her to hold onto. She then pulls her sword out of it's sheeth and stands in front of the Spirit of the Planet to block the Rogu's view of her.

"No!" Meg shouts. "I won't let you harm Grace!"

The other two Rogu swordsmen pull out their swords as well.

"If you interfere..." the swordsman continues. "...you will die as well." 


End file.
